Last weekend I ran Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage. It was not the race I had hoped for, but it was still awesome. We met at Northgate very early Friday morning and drove up to the start in Blaine. We had a 9 am start. I was runner #6 and started my run at 6 pm. I was so excited to start my leg and thought I was eating during the day, but as I started my run I did not feel good. And at mile 5 I knew I did not have enough fuel. At the exchange my awesome team was there with water and met me down the road with some shot blocks. It was not a pretty run, but I finished.

Lauren, Robyn, Travis, Nicole and Jordanne

My stomach still gave me problems on my next run at 2:30 am even though I held up in a Porta Pottie for 15 minutes. I had 2 other runs on Saturday, still not good. Total mileage 30.5.

Thank you Marilyn for the best running picture of me ever!

None of my runs on this race were good. I can complain about them or tell you why I will run another relay.

My teammates ROCK! Lauren is the best captain ever. She is so organized and such a great support, even though she was not feeling well most of the race. Robyn is the youngest of the group and the most energetic. She was also cheering me up as I was complaining about my runs. Marilyn rocked her legs. She was a newbie to Relays and took it all in, never complaining. Nicole is super funny and smart. She had a rough first day, but totally turned it around on Saturday. Jordanne was funny and ran in great sparkly skirts each run. A big part of our team was Marilyn’s husband Travis. Not only was he our driver, he make sure we all had whatever we needed and was cheering us on from the driver’s seat.

Lauren’s running.

The other Ragnar teams rock! On my first tough run, I asked a total stranger for a drink and he offered me GU as well. On my night run, I missed a curb and fell hard. Two guys stopped an asked if I was okay, and if I needed anything. While being passed, many times, the other runners are encouraging, with a “great job”, “stay strong”.

There is a great camaraderie about runners being together for 35+ hours. You learn a lot about each other and get to talk all about races, shoes, running , training plans all the things your non running friends are bored with.

Thank you Ragnar for putting on a great well-organized race. Thank you to my awesome team mates for putting up with my complaining and slow runs.